Welcome to the Prima Fast Track Guide for Knockout Kings 2000. In the
second installment of EA's boxing series, you'll find all of the great features
you got last year, plus a ton of new stuff. This Prima Fast Track Guide provides
basic strategies and techniques to knock your opponents down. Knockout Kings
2000: Prima's Official Strategy Guide provides more in depth strategies as
well as tips on creating boxers, stats on the various boxers in the game,
and how to perform illegal moves (including two hidden ones).

Basics

The Punches

Jab

If you follow any of the strategies in this guide, follow this one. The jab
is your friend. Don't go into any fight without it and don't ever forget
about it. It doesn't do tons of damage, but it doesn't take up a lot of Stamina
either; so you can throw lots of them--and you should be throwing lots of
them. Repeated jabs to the head work over an opponent's chin and can cause
swelling, then a cut can open. Cuts increase the chance of a flash knockdown
of your opponent. The jab is also very effective as a counter punch. Side
step your opponent's punch and counter with a lightning-fast jab. It's a
good way to teach your opponent to be careful in what he does.

Hook

The hook is a good follow-up punch to the jab. It's thrown with the same
hand as your jab and it's a pretty quick punch. If you're going toe-to-toe
with your opponent, this is the punch of choice.

Uppercut

The uppercut is a good way to hit your opponent when he's ducking to avoid
a series of jabs. It does a good amount of damage and it's a good KO punch.
A shot to the chin from an uppercut is a good way to open up a cut and draw
blood.

Cross

The cross comes from the opposite hand as your jab. It's a bit slower than
a jab, but does more damage. While you're fighting, mix up your punches and
work in some combinations. A couple of jabs followed by a cross is a good
sequence to start off with. Watch for the opening on the cross though. It's
slower than your basic jab, but it does a little bit more damage.

Combos

Combos are a sequence of punches that do more damage as they land in sequence.
You take advantage of the momentary daze your opponent is in by quickly throwing
another punch. Boxers and sluggers have different combos they can throw.

Flurries

Flurries are a series of punches executed with a single-button combination.
They're effective because they do a lot of damage, but they cost you Stamina.
You lose Stamina as soon as you throw a flurry. So, if you get blocked, you're
pretty much out of luck.

Signature Moves

Signature Moves are big punches that are unique to each boxer. They take
a long time to execute and you'll need a big opening. They're only slightly
telegraphed.

Basics II

Blocking

Unless all of your stats are one hundreds (and your opponent's aren't) you
can't go toe-to-toe all of the time. It's just not realistic and you shouldn't
expect to play the game that way. You're going to have to block, bob, and
weave to avoid at least some of the blows.

The following are some of the basic strategies you need to avoid the brunt
of your opponent's wrath. You also can counter punch to teach your opponent
a lesson. He's missed his move, but there's nothing he can do about it.

Clinching

From time to time, you need to take a break in the fight: your opponent has
got you on the run and you need a way out. While you're clinched, your fighter
gets a breather, and you can even sneak in a blow or two.

Fight Pacing

Let's dispense with an assumptions you may have made. These fights are going
to be multi-round affairs, so you won't be able to throw 500 punches in a
round. You can try, but if you don't knock him out or TKO, you'll be in big
trouble in the later rounds.

The Stats

As you look through the game, you see six basic stats: Power, Speed, Stamina,
Heart, Chin, and Cuts. But what do they mean? What's the real difference
between a 69 Power and a 72 Power? Obviously, the higher the number the better.
This section defines the statistical categories and explains what's behind
the numbers.

The Five Categories

Each statistic is broken down into five categories, each a little bit better
than the first one. An Excellent rating, however, is a big jump over a Very
Good one. The following list shows the point breakdown for each rating.

Power enhances the amount of damage you do per punch. Higher Power also increases
the chance of a flash knockdown.

Speed

Speed governs how fast you throw your punches, move out of the way, and get
your blocks up. Assuming you're fighting a boxer with Good Speed, having
an Excellent rating would mean you're five percent faster. If your opponent's
Very Good, you would be two percent faster, Average is two percent slower
and Poor is five percent slower. Also, having an Excellent Speed rating increases
your chance of a flash knockdown.

Stamina

Stamina dictates how quickly endurance is recovered. Your fighter regains
endurance (the bottom meter) during and between rounds.

Heart

Heart determines how fast you regain Health (the top meter) between rounds.
It also governs how easily a boxer can get up from a knockdown. Having an
Excellent Heart rating also lowers the boxer's chance of being the victim
of a flash knockdown.

Chin

A boxer's Chin rating reduces the damage done by an opponent's punches and
reduces the chance he'll fall due to a flash knockdown. Chin is basically
the opposite of a boxer's Power rating, so having an Excellent Chin negates
the effects of opponents Excellent Power.

Cuts

Cuts determines how easily a boxer is cut and how long it takes him to get
TKOed if he's cut.

Slugfest

Knockout Kings 2000 gives you lots of real-life boxing action in Exhibition,
Classic Fights, and Career modes. But sometimes you want a little arcade
action. EA Sports gives you that in Slugfest Mode. There are no rules in
a Slugfest. Throw all of the illegal moves you want. Head butt, throw an
elbow, hit him below the belt with a low blow, and try a kidney punch to
deal out some underhanded punishment.

Slugfest Basics

In a Slugfest, there's no Endurance Meter. It's replaced by an energy bar
(the purple one on the bottom) that builds as you land punches and taunt
your opponents. Keep throwing punches until the purple energy bar is full
and the little glove icon appears. You're now ready for a Power Punch.

There are two kinds of Power Punches. The first one is a huge uppercut. The
wind up takes a little while, so you are vulnerable to a quick jab. Make
sure you have a big enough window of opportunity so you don't waste the Power
Punch. Power Punches pack a truckload. Use them to wear down your opponents.
Your opponent may see that Power Punch coming and get his block up in time.
You worked hard to build up enough energy, so make it count. The second kind
of Power Punch is the lunging right cross. This punch does a heck of a lot
of damage, too. Mix things up and use both Power Punches to your advantage.

Exhibition Mode

Exhibition Mode is just like Classic Fights or Career Mode. Illegal moves
are just that, illegal. If the ref catches you throwing a low blow, kidney
punch, or other illegal combo, you'll be warned. Do it again and the ref
penalizes you. Do it too often and you're disqualified.

The Exhibition Fight is a quick way to pair up boxers from any era or weight
class. Want to see how a Lightweight would hold up against a Heavyweight?
Go for it in an Exhibition Fight. Use all of the strategies from Basics to
win the Exhibition Fight. Use your jab to keep opponents at bay. One of them
doesn't do a ton of damage-but ten or twenty will make a dent. Keep throwing
them.

Watch the head butts and other illegal moves. The first two times you get
a warning. After that you lose points, which could cost you a decision. Keep
up the illegal stuff and you'll get disqualified. The ref sees each illegal
move. There's no hiding it from the computer's ever-watching eye. If you
stick to the strategies from Basics, you'll do just fine.

Career Mode

Do you want the title? Are you ready to take it? Well, here's your shot.
Step into Career Mode, create a boxer, start training, and fight your way
to the top.

The road to glory isn't easy. Starting out twenty-first means you have to
wade through nineteen other boxers to earn your title shot. Then you have
to fight the champ! Then you think it's over, right? Wrong! Just when you
think it's over, Knockout Kings 2000 throws another gauntlet at you. You
have to defend the title against the rest of the fighters in your weight
class, with each fight bringing a tougher boxer until you reach the "Greatest
of All Time," Muhammad Ali. If you lose the belt, you get knocked down the
ladder and have to try and get it back.

Select a Gym

Once you've created a boxer, you must select where your boxer trains. This
choice affects how quickly your stats develop (each gym has its own strengths
and, sometimes, weaknesses). You need to pick the gym that matches your fighting
style and the initial value of all of your stats.

Heart is one of the hardest stats to boost (as there is only one Strategic
Training exercise to increase it). I like to pick Auggie's Gym in Philadelphia
because it has a +1 Heart bonus. Rochester's Gym in London, England, also
has a +1 Heart bonus, but that gym also has a -1 for Speed. I'd much rather
take points than give them away, so my home gym is Auggie's.

Strategic Training

Strategic Training lets you pick two of the ten training methods available.
Each one of these adds to your boxer's stats. In the beginning, you need
to build your Heart and Stamina. Power is important, too; it helps you put
away your opponent earlier. However, the basic boxer from Table 7-2 starts
with a higher Power rating, so it's not as important early on.

As your boxer rises in the ranks, you can then fill out the other stats,
but your first few training exercises should focus on Heart and Stamina.
Heart governs how much Health you regain between rounds and Stamina governs
how fast you recover Endurance during the fight. The Medicine Ball is a good
way to improve your Cuts statistic. Having a high Cuts stat helps stop a
cut from forming. When your boxer gets cut, your opponent can work it for
a quick knockdown or TKO.

Career Mode II

Training Sessions

Once you've picked your Strategic Training, you move to the Training Sessions.
Here, you're given the option of Auto Train. If you choose Auto Train, you're
only awarded the bonus for your gym. If you choose to go through the short
training session, you can earn more than your gym bonus.

During your ten training sessions, the game takes you through all of the
various punch combinations and patterns. It's basically a game of follow
the leader. The computer trainer calls out a button combination on the left
side of the screen that you have to copy. How well you copy the patterns
and how quickly you get them done governs the number of stat points your
boxer receives. You can even earn a Specialty Punch for your boxer.

Moving Up in the Ranking

You start out with a twenty-first-ranked boxer and your goal is obviously
to be the champion of your class. But what's the best way to get there?

When you're ranked lower than eleventh place, you're given a choice to either
fight the boxer with the next higher ranking or to leapfrog that opponent
in an attempt to pick up two ranking positions. Unless you're in a real hurry,
you shouldn't do this. You're only allowed to train once between fights.
If you leapfrog an opponent, you just cheated yourself out of a training
session. You need to be statistically equal to Ali in every category if you
want a chance in beating him. Therefore, you need every training chance you
get to boost all of those stats to 100.

Setbacks

You just might lose a fight or two on the way to the top. Don't sweat it!
Knockout Kings 2000 doesn't give any bonus or give you access to any special
modes if you can beat the game without a loss. Your stats go down when you
lose a fight, though-so try not to do it too often.

The Title Bout

Once you become the number one ranked contender, you get a shot at the champion
of your weight class. This fight is more difficult than the first fight you
fought, but then again all of the fights have gotten a little harder as you've
moved up in the ranks. The learning/difficulty curve on Knockout Kings 2000
has been tweaked so that there aren't any radical difficulty jumps on your
road to the top. Each fight is incrementally harder. If you've trained well,
your stats have gone up to compensate.

Career Mode III

Defending the Crown

Once you reach the top, you need to defend the title and press on. You fight
the rest of the boxers in your class now. Each Title Defense gets harder
as the remaining boxers in your class are ranked in terms of their overall
stats. If you lose the belt, you've got to get it back to advance higher.

Ali

All of the fights that have preceded this one have come to a head in this,
the last bout. Ali is considered "The Greatest of All Time" and you've got
to beat him to win the game. If you've trained along the way, you have the
stats to match him. The question is, do you have the skill? Here's how to
do it.

If Ali has got you on reach, you'll have to work inside. He'll try and keep
you at bay with his jab. Block and counter to get in there. Pay attention
to your keys to the bout. They're very helpful. Ali's got 100 on everything
but Power, so you're going to have to fight like it says. Use big punches
to overcome the 100 Stamina and Chin, being aggressive because it takes a
lot to get him down, and work the body to wear down the champ's Endurance.

Mix up your punches. Swing a couple of lefts then pop him with an uppercut
from the right. It catches the champ off guard and snaps his head back. You
won't be able to absorb every single punch Ali throws. Block to avoid the
worst of it, but remember to be aggressive.